


Crafting Their Own Futures

by Small_Hobbit



Series: Happy Families [3]
Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-10
Updated: 2018-03-24
Packaged: 2019-03-29 12:04:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13926780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Small_Hobbit/pseuds/Small_Hobbit
Summary: Bilbo has taken the first steps with the café he and Dis are running, and Thorin has begun to get the jewellry workshop making a profit again, but neither can afford to relax yet.





	1. Sunsine & Blue Skies

**Author's Note:**

> Written for DW's Gen Prompt Bingo - one prompt per chapter.
> 
> Begins about a month after Part 2.

Bilbo Baggins stood outside the café he and Dis were running.  It was a beautiful afternoon; autumn was starting to creep in, but the sky was blue and he could feel the sunshine on his face.  They had finished serving lunches, and he was taking a break before more customers came in seeking afternoon tea.

Dis had expected a fall in numbers once the summer holidays were over, but so far this hadn’t materialised.  Dis was happy at this, and Bilbo thought he probably ought to be too, but it didn’t help him with the decision he had to make.  The original plan had been to run the café during the summer and then, when trade started to drop, Bilbo would either return to the family business in the Shire, or find alternative work where he was now.

Bilbo’s father had recently written to him, in rather more conciliatory terms than Bilbo had expected, saying there was a position available for him if he were to return in the next few weeks.  His father had added that they would not be able to hold the position open for him indefinitely and requested a response by the end of the month.  Bilbo understood the reasoning; if he did not return they would need to appoint someone else before the run up to the winter festivities.

He was still thinking about the letter, when Dis came out to join him.

“It’s such a beautiful day,” she said.  “But there won’t be many more like this.  So I’ve been thinking we ought to be planning a different lunch menu.  There are many thick soups we could offer, which I think would be very popular.  And I was wondering whether you might be able to use some of the local fruits for your pastries.  And there are some traditional autumn desserts we could do.”

“I’m afraid I don’t know any of your autumn desserts – it’s not something we specialise in at home.”

“I’ve got recipe books you can borrow.  Or even better, a number of people have family recipes that have been handed down to them.  I’m sure if you were to bake the desserts and label them as Granny or Auntie Something’s Tart they’d be happy for you to have the recipes.”

“It does sound appealing, but are you sure you wish to continue?  This started as a temporary venture.  As you said, the weather won’t hold much longer, will people keep coming once it changes?”

“Not as many, perhaps.  But I’m sure we’ll still have enough customers to keep us going.  We may well lose the passing trade, but we’ve been seeing regulars coming every week, if not more often, and I’m sure they’ll continue coming.  Especially if we bring in an updated menu.”  Dis gave Bilbo a considered look.  “But I’ll understand if you decide you want to go back home.  It can’t be easy being so far from your family – I know I’d find it very difficult.”

Bilbo laughed.  “If I’m honest, I think I miss the countryside more than I miss my family.  It’s so different from what I see here.  I do like being here and working with you all.  Although sometimes I wonder…”  He paused, not sure how to express his thoughts, or even if he wanted to share them with Dis.

“Sometimes you wonder what Thorin’s thinking.”  Dis solved the problem by completing the sentence for him.  “There are times when my brother is an idiot.”

“I wouldn’t go that far,” Bilbo said.

“Well, you’re the only one who wouldn’t.  He’s got something on his mind at the moment and he’s not telling anyone what it is.  I had hoped he’d confided in you, but apparently he hasn’t.”  Dis sighed.  “There are times when I could pick him up and shake him.”

Bilbo looked at Dis and laughed.  She was a good six inches shorter than her brother and Bilbo was having difficulty imagining Dis achieving that intention.

Dis laughed too.  “He’d have to be sitting down first though,” she agreed.

Bilbo and Dis walked back to the café together; Bilbo feeling more torn than ever as he tried to decide whether to stay or return home.

***

In the evening, when they had finished eating dinner and Vili, Dis’ husband was putting Fili and Kili to bed, Thorin said, “I was wondering about moving into the annexe.  It’s not been used for anything other than storage for years, and now I’m not going back to university it seems like a good idea and it would give your family a bit more space.”

Bilbo stayed silent.  He hadn’t known Thorin was thinking about moving out, and had assumed they’d discuss it before he did anything.  Neither Dis nor Vili had given any indication that their two summer guests were in anyway unwelcome.

The news had clearly come as an equal surprise to Dis, for she said, “You know you’re very welcome to stay with us as long as you want.  Although if you’re keen to move into the annexe I don’t see any problem with that.  But what about Bilbo?”

“He’ll be going back home soon,” Thorin replied.

Dis stood up and for one moment Bilbo thought she really was going to shake her brother.  Instead she merely said, “This afternoon we were discussing autumn menus, so I don’t think he’s decided yet.”

Bilbo saw Dis looking at him, so he added, “I’m still thinking about it.  I have to let my father know by the end of the month.”

“Don’t think too hard!” Thorin snapped.  He jumped up and strode out of the dining room, pushing aside a very confused Vili who had just come back downstairs.

Vili then rapidly side-stepped a plate which came flying through the air towards him.  The plate sailed through the open doorway and smashed on the floor.

“What was that all about?” Vili asked.

“My stupid, stupid brother,” Dis growled.

Vili took Bilbo’s arm and said, “I suggest we have our coffee elsewhere.  Long experience has taught me it is better not to come between Dis and Thorin at times like these.”


	2. Rainstorm

Thorin looked out of his bedroom window.  Of course it would be pouring with rain this particular morning; the morning when he wanted to make a good impression and not turn up looking like a drowned rat.  He stomped downstairs and into the kitchen to grab some breakfast.

Fili and Kili bounced around, excitedly telling him they would be wearing their wellies to school so they could splash through all the puddles.  His grumped “Good!” sent the boys scuttling out of his way, and brought about a snapped, “Thorin!” from his sister.  He ignored her, as he had been doing for the past few days since she’d thrown the plate at him.

Bilbo had hardly spoken to him either, which served to confirm his belief his friend would soon be heading back home.  Thorin noticed he was still thinking of Bilbo as a friend, even though he would shortly be losing him.

For now there wasn’t time to dwell on such things.  He glanced at the clock and realised he should be leaving.  Taking an umbrella he left the house without bothering to say “Goodbye”.

He walked down to the bus stop, doing his best to avoid the puddles as he went.  He could have taken the car he shared with his sister, but that would have meant telling her where he was going, something he wasn’t prepared to do for anyone.  He had mentioned to Dwalin he wouldn’t be in till after lunchtime, but had chosen his timing so he knew Dwalin wouldn’t have the opportunity to question him.  This way, if everything went wrong, he would be the only one to know.

***

Thorin walked across the college campus and into one of the buildings.  Having checked where he was heading on the large plan on display he made his way to one of the rooms.  Once there he paused outside the door, letting a couple of students go in front of him, before he entered.  The tutor noticed his entry and indicated a space at the work bench in the first row.  Thorin wanted to glare at him, but managed to control his feelings, he wasn’t going to let Thranduil see how unsettled he made him feel.

As the class got under way Thorin started to relax.  Thranduil was a good teacher, and he encouraged his students to make their own copies of the drawings he showed on the screen, rather than relying on the handouts.   The concepts were fairly basic and Thorin already had a reasonable grasp of what was being taught, but he still found the drawing practice helpful.  By the time they stopped for the morning break Thorin was beginning to wonder why he’d been so concerned about starting the course.

However, as he followed the other students out of the room, Thranduil called him back.

“I’m surprised to see you here,” Thranduil said.

“I thought it was important to learn some theory to back up the practice,” Thorin replied.

“You do know this is the Level Two class?  I’d have expected you to take Level Three.”

“It seemed a good idea to have all the basics in place before taking the advanced class.”

“A sensible plan.  You have grown up.”

“And I heard you were teaching Level Two this year.  I might as well learn from the best.”

“Very wise.  You’d better hurry and get your coffee.  I don’t approve of students who are late back to my class.”

Thorin did as instructed.  He had been dreading Thranduil’s remarks on finding Thorin as one of his students, but so far it hadn’t been as bad as he’d feared.  Knowing he wouldn’t be permitted to take his coffee back into the classroom he drank it rapidly before hurrying back.

As he entered the classroom, Thranduil said, “Shut the door; you’re the last.”  Thorin wanted to protest he wasn’t late and two others had walked in before him, but remembered his resolve to keep his temper.  Biting his lip he took his seat.

It wasn’t long before he’d forgotten his annoyance as he became absorbed in the teaching.  There were a number of things he’d discovered in his craftwork by trial and error, and he was now seeing the reasons for them.  He reflected ruefully that had he known about them at the time he’d have saved a lot of frustration.

He was surprised when it was the end of the morning; the time seemed to have passed so quickly.  Then Thranduil handed out their homework.  From the gasps he heard behind him, Thorin knew he wasn’t the only one taken aback by the amount of work they were required to do.

He left the classroom promptly when Thranduil dismissed them, keen to catch the bus home.  It was still raining steadily as he walked back across the campus, and then as he made his way back from the bus stop.  He went straight to the café when he arrived, hoping to grab some lunch before spending the afternoon in the workshop.

Dis spotted him at once.  “Where have you been?” she said.  “You look like a drowned rat.  Go and get changed, you idiot.”

Thorin was tempted to ignore her, but Bilbo added, “I can bring you some lunch over in a few minutes if you want.”

“Thank you,” Thorin muttered, and dripped his way back to the house.

Bilbo arrived just as Thorin had finished changing.  Thorin saw Bilbo had brought his own lunch as well, and the two of them sat in the kitchen eating silently.  Thorin had planned to rush off to the workshop as soon as they had finished, therefore avoiding the need to say anything to Bilbo, but Dis arrived before he could put his plan into action.

“It’s quiet in the café at the moment,” Dis said.  “I’ve left Bombur to see to the last few customers.  So, little brother, are you going to tell us where you’ve been.”

Thorin felt himself starting to blush.  “I’ve signed up for a course at the college,” he said quietly.  “It was my first day today.”

“The fine metalwork one?” Dis asked.  Thorin nodded.  “That’s great.  How did it go?”

“I enjoyed it.”  He smiled.  “But we’ve been given so much homework I may have to reconsider moving into the annexe for the moment.”  He turned to Bilbo, and felt the blush deepen.  “And I probably ought to talk to you about that anyway.”

He jumped up, and added, “But now I need to get back to work.”  He had made it to the door when he heard his sister clear her throat.  “Oh, and thank you for lunch.”  He left, having no wish to say anything else.


	3. Pastel Shades

“Can I ask you something?” Bilbo said.  It was Saturday afternoon, the week’s baking was over and the café was being staffed by a couple of part-time students under Dis’ watchful eye.  He had joined Thorin who had been working in the dining room.

Thorin looked up.  “Yes.  Go ahead!”

“I’m not disturbing you, am I?”  Bilbo had been watching Thorin balling up pieces of paper and throwing them on the floor for the past ten minutes, so he rather doubted Thorin would object to the interruption.

“Not at all,” Thorin grinned.  “Please distract me.”

Bilbo grinned back.  Since Thorin had got over his embarrassment and admitted he was going to college their closeness had returned.  They’d even briefly discussed moving into the annexe but Bilbo had been unwilling to commit to anything whilst he was still trying to decide what he would do.

“It’s a bit awkward,” Bilbo began, then hurriedly added, “it’s nothing you’ve done,” when he saw Thorin’s worried expression.  “It’s just that Dis has lots of ideas for the café, but when I dreamt of having my own café I had imagined trying out some of my own ideas.  I don’t want to upset Dis, because her suggestions are really good, but we’re bringing in a number of your traditional cakes, albeit with a twist, and I’d like to use some of my own country’s specialities as well.”

I’m sure Dis would be only too happy to include your ideas.  What did you have in mind?”

“That’s the problem.  I’ve had some thoughts but nothing concrete.  I’d really need to experiment first.”

“Why don’t you?  You told me that’s what you used to do when we first met.  You said you tried different pastries out with the delegation to see what was popular.”

“Do you think Dis would be happy with me doing that?”

“I’m sure she would.”

Bilbo noticed Thorin’s attention reverting to his drawings.  “I think I’ll go and ask her now, see what she says.  And I’ll leave you to get back to your homework.”

“Good idea!”

Bilbo smiled at Thorin who was now completely absorbed in his design.

***

Dis was delighted with Bilbo’s suggestion.  Bilbo explained he had one main idea he wanted to try, but there were a number of variations, and he couldn’t decide which would be best.

“How many variations did you have in mind?” Dis asked.

“Six, possibly eight.  Which is why I really want to decide which ones to go with.”

“Is it possible to make all eight?  Not all at once, but over a few days?”

“Yes, I can do that.  It would be a bit tricky, but nothing too complicated.  And I’d enjoy the challenge.”

“In which case, how about you try two a day for the first four days of the week, and then the two most popular could be made again on the Friday?”

“I suppose so.”

“You sound a little doubtful.”

“I’d hoped more than two would be popular.”

“I’m sure they will be, but this way we encourage people to come back on Friday, and we can then note which ones they say should have been the winners, and maybe alternate the more popular ones in the future.”

Bilbo laughed.  “Okay.  That’s a plan.”

The following week Bilbo gave time to working on his new confections, whilst Dis told all the customers to expect some new cakes in the near future.  Then, on the Monday, Bilbo quietly placed a tray of cakes of the palest lemon, and a second tray with pale pink cakes on the racks.  He wasn’t sure how popular they would prove, and was delighted to find they had sold out by mid-afternoon.  The next day saw pale blue cakes, together with peach coloured ones, and these were followed by a tray of light green cakes and one of pale violet.  The final day there were turquoise coloured cakes, and ones which looked silvery and appeared to sparkle. 

In order to judge the popularity, Dis had provided a set of little jars, one for each variety of cake, and into which the customers were encouraged to place small coins in support of their favourites.  All the money raised would be given to a local charity.

Bilbo hadn’t expected much interest in which cakes had won the poll, so when he entered the café on the Friday morning, ready to put trays of the two winning cakes on display, he was surprised to see quite a crowd had gathered.  He and Dis had kept the winners secret from everyone, and he’d not even told Thorin, despite the pleading he had faced the previous night.

A cheer went up as Bilbo placed the peach and the violet cakes into the racks.  He grinned and looked happily round at the gathered crowd, and then noticed Thorin stomping out of the café.  There was no time for Bilbo to chase after him, because there were customers to be served, and so he took up his place at one end of the counter, where he thanked many who congratulated him on the beautiful cakes.

Bilbo finally caught up with Thorin as the other was returning to the workshop after his lunch break.

“Is everything all right?” Bilbo asked.

“Yes.  Your new cakes have been a great success.”

“I’m really pleased.  But you didn’t seem too happy this morning.”

“I wanted the lemon cakes to win.  They were by far the best.”

Bilbo laughed.  “I shall be making the lemon ones again.  In fact I shall be making them all again.  We’ve had some good news.”

“Are you going to tell me what it is, or are you going to keep it from me, like you did the winning cakes?”

“Hey, you can stop sulking now – I’ve said I’ll make more of the cakes you liked!”  Bilbo grinned as Thorin’s embarrassed smile confirmed his thoughts.  “We’ve been asked to provide the cakes for the mayor’s annual tea party.  And they’d like to include my new cakes.  It’s what I’ve always wanted to do, cater for parties where I can provide individual attention.”

“That is good news.”

“And the other thing is, this means I’m staying.  I’ll write to my father tonight.”

“And that is excellent news.”

Bilbo found himself wrapped in a hug and almost lifted off his feet.  “Put me down, you idiot,” he said.  “I need to get back to work.”

Thorin put him down and said, “Can we celebrate later?”

“I think we should.”


	4. Primary Colours

Thorin had been feeling really upbeat when he’d headed for college that morning.  He and Bilbo had discussed plans for moving into the annexe together, and they were hoping to do so the following weekend.  Vili had offered to give them a hand and Dwalin had said he’d help move the rubbish out so that at least they’d have a couple of rooms they could use, even if more work was required before they were completely self-sufficient.

In addition, Thorin had been pleased with the work he’d produced for his college course.  The challenge had been to make a reasonably priced item suitable for the Yuletide market, with the first step being to produce the design plus costings.  Thorin had consulted with Ori, and had decided to make charms for a child’s charm bracelet.  The workshop was already making filigree gold bracelets for adults, and a child’s bracelet from a cheaper metal should prove popular.  Accordingly Thorin had designed some charms and submitted them to Thranduil for approval.

But Thranduil had rejected the designs out of hand and Thorin was furious.  He parked the car and stormed back to the house.  Normally, when he returned from college he would look to see if he could spot Bilbo, who had taken to looking out for him so they could eat lunch together; today he was so annoyed he didn’t bother.

From force of habit he went into the dining room, and then slammed the door.  A minute later he heard it open and Bilbo come in.

“What’s happened?” Bilbo asked.

Thorin screwed up the paper his designs had been drawn on and threw it in Bilbo’s general direction.

“Hey, steady on,” Bilbo said.  “I suppose I should be grateful that wasn’t a plate.”  There was a pause, and then he added, “Isn’t this your design?  You spent ages working on that.”

“Thranduil says it’s no good and needs redoing,” Thorin replied.  “He hates the thought of our workshop being successful.  He’ll fail me just to make a point.”

“Thranduil?  He’s your tutor, isn’t he?  I don’t understand.”

“When my father first became ill, Thranduil was the manager of the workshop.  My father sacked him, saying his ideas weren’t suitable for the workshop.  Thranduil had wanted to bring in new designs, but they were too modern for what we made.”

“But isn’t that what you’re doing now?”

Thorin ignored Bilbo’s question and said, “They had a massive argument, after which my father was ill in bed for days.  Balin tried to contact Thranduil, to see if he could repair some of the damage, but he made no reply.”

Bilbo made no comment, instead bending down to pick up the paper which had been thrown at him.  He put the paper on the table and smoothed it out.  Thorin watched him in silence.

Then Bilbo said, “Have you actually read what Thranduil’s written?”

“It says ‘this needs rethinking’,” Thorin snapped.

“What it actually says is the colours need rethinking.  There are various other comments regarding the specifications, which make little sense to me, something about weight and strength.  And several ticks, plus a couple of ‘good points’.”

“Where?”

“Come and have a look.”

Rather reluctantly Thorin went over.  Bilbo indicated the positive comments and then showed him the remarks about the weight.

“Yes, that’s a valid point,” Thorin conceded.  “I hadn’t thought of that.  But he still says it needs rethinking.”

“I can see where he’s coming from.”

“What?”

“Just listen to me for a moment, before you write me off as well.  These charms are designed for children, aren’t they?  The colours are all very delicate, but children often like bright colours.  Some of the adults’ charms feature jewels, couldn’t the children’s ones have jewel-like colours?”

“Oh!”  Thorin thought, then said, “It would mean buying different paints.”

“Would that make the cost prohibitive?”

“Not if we restricted the colours to, say, just the primary colours.”

“Will you consider it?”

“Yes.”  Thorin took his drawing pad out of his bag and put it on the table.  “It’ll give me the chance to make those weight amendments too.”

“Put that away!” Bilbo ordered.

Thorin looked up in surprise.  “I thought you wanted me to redraw them.”

“I do.  But you need to eat your lunch first.”  Bilbo indicated the plates he had brought over with him, which he’d left at the far end of the table.

“All right!”  Thorin tried to look grudging, but realised he’d failed completely.

***

The following Tuesday, on his return from college, Thorin leapt out of the car and started to run towards the café.  He saw Bilbo standing outside, looking rather anxious, before his face broke into a grin.

“It went okay then?” Bilbo said.

“Yes.”  Thorin continued to smile.  “Thranduil liked the improvements.  He’s even told me the best sort of paint to buy.”

“I presume that’s important.”

“To get the jewel-like results you suggested, certain types of paint work better than others.  Thranduil’s written down the supplier we should use, and said we’ll get a discount if I tell them I’m using the paint for my college course.”

“It sounds as if he would like to see the workshop succeed after all.”

“Yes, I suppose I may have been a bit hasty in my judgement.  I still find it hard to forgive him for what happened to my father, but it’s unreasonable to blame Thranduil entirely for the row.”

Bilbo clearly caught something of Thorin’s change of mood, because he said, “Maybe some things which happened in the past are best left in the past.  For now, you have your new designs for the charms.  When do you start making them?”

“Hopefully by the end of this week.  I need to take the prototype of at least three of them into class next week.  They won’t need to be painted, but the designs should be realised.  I might even be able to get started this afternoon.”

Thorin started to walk towards the workshop.

“Aren’t you forgetting something?” Bilbo called out.

He swung round, “What?”

“Lunch!”

Thorin laughed.  “There’s no chance of me doing that with you around!”

 


	5. Strength

_Two months later_

Bilbo rather nervously got out of the car.  Thorin had insisted on driving his car, saying it would blend in better in the corporate car park than Bilbo’s little yellow one.  Bilbo hadn’t minded Thorin driving, in fact he was grateful, having no wish to negotiate the city streets, but the knowledge it would be better if they tried to blend in didn’t do anything for his confidence.

Nor had the fact Thorin had grown more tense and abrupt the closer they had got to their destination, so that by the time they had parked he was completely silent.  Bilbo had waited for Thorin to comment, but he had got out of the car without a word and then strode off across the car park with Bilbo being almost forced to run after him in an attempt to keep up.

When they entered the imposing glass and steel building, Thorin said to the receptionist, “Thorin Oakenshield, my grandfather is expecting me.”

The woman waited whilst Thorin and Bilbo signed in, and then said, “Sixth Floor.  I’ll let them know you’re on your way.”

They were alone in the lift, so Bilbo took the opportunity to take Thorin’s hands, which he noticed were shaking slightly.  “You’ll be fine,” he said.  “I’m here with you.”

Thorin nodded.  “Just don’t expect him to be polite.”

“I know.  You’ve told me all about him.”

The lift pinged to announce the sixth floor, and Bilbo dropped Thorin’s hands and stepped out.  Immediately they were ushered into an office.  An elderly man was sitting behind the desk, his posture completely stiff.  He took no notice of Bilbo, but looked directly at Thorin.

“Good morning, Grandfather,” Thorin said.  “This is Bilbo Baggins.”

“What is he doing here?” the old man asked.

“He’s my partner.”  Bilbo felt Thorin reach out to him, and took his hand, squeezing it in reassurance.

“He can’t be.”

“I both live with him, and share the business responsibilities,” Thorin replied.

“What you choose to do in your own time is of no interest to me.  However, he cannot have a work partnership with you.”

“There you are wrong, Grandfather.  A legal document has been drawn up which has made myself, Dis and Bilbo equal partners in Durin Enterprises, which comprises both the workshop and the café.  Your father left the sole ownership of the workshop to my father, who in his turn left it to Dis and myself.  It is up to us who we wish to invite to join us.”

The old man turned his gaze upon Bilbo.  “And how are you financing your share?  Or have my grandchildren taken complete leave of their senses and given you a free ride?”

Bilbo looked steadily back.  He was determined not to rise to the bait.  “My cousin has bought out my share in the bakery my family own.  That, together with half of the profits the café made in the first few months of trading, was quite sufficient to purchase my one-third share.”

The old man didn’t bother to acknowledge Bilbo’s reply, instead turning back to Thorin.  “So why have you felt it necessary to disturb me?” he asked.

“I wished to inform you in person of the situation,” Thorin replied.  “And to give you this.”  He took out of his pocket one of the children’s charm bracelets, with a complete set of the brightly coloured charms attached, and placed it in the middle of the desk.  “These are proving so popular we can hardly keep up with demand,” he said.

“And we brought you these,” Bilbo added.  He placed a box on the desk next to the bracelet.  “Four of my newest Yuletide cakes.” 

The old man ignored the gifts.  “If you have nothing more constructive to do,” he said, “I suggest you leave.”

Wordlessly Thorin turned and exited the office.  Bilbo followed close behind.  They stepped into a waiting lift, and Bilbo looked anxiously at Thorin, unsure how he would be feeling.  To his surprise, instead of the tense look Thorin had had when they arrived, he was grinning broadly.

“Did you see his face when you gave him your cakes?” Thorin asked.  “He merely stared when I gave him the child’s bracelet, but his expression when you put your box down was priceless.”

“Yes, fortunately my other customers are rather more grateful.”

“Maybe you should produce a line of cakes for miserable people.”

“With sad faces iced on them.”

They were both laughing as they left the lift. 

Thorin’s uncle was standing in reception and glared at them.  “I fail to see any cause for levity.”

Bilbo tried hard not to imagine the uncle as a customer for his miserable cakes, but couldn’t help smiling.  He sensed Thorin had had a similar response from the way the older man turned and marched off.

Once they were back in the car Thorin said, “Thank you for coming with me.  It would have been much harder on my own.”

Bilbo leaned over and kissed him.  “I didn’t do anything.  You were great.  It was clear you’d broken the hold your grandfather has had on you.”

“Thanks to your support.  I wouldn’t have coped these last few months without your quiet strength behind me.”

Bilbo laughed.  “I was about to say the same to you.  Getting everything arranged hasn’t been easy, but I’ve always known I can rely on your strength when things have been hard.”

“So long as we don’t let Dis hear us, because she’d be insisting we should both be grateful for her strength.”

“Which is why we are taking her and Vili out to dinner tonight to thank her for that support and celebrate the start of the new venture.”

Thorin started the engine.  “And since we’re going out for dinner I don’t suppose you’ll want to stop for lunch.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.  Of course I will.  Did you have somewhere in mind?”

“There’s a café I know which always used to have an impressive display of cakes.”

“Sounds perfect.  I might pick up some ideas.”  Bilbo paused for a moment, then added, “How do you know about this café?”

“It happens to be very close to one of the top jewellers’ shops in the city.”  Thorin’s apparent innocence wasn’t fooling Bilbo.

“So you thought you might do a little window shopping?”

“It would be a shame not to if we were in the area.”

Bilbo laughed again.  “Go on then.  Lunch first and then you can do your window shopping.”

“I love you!”

“I love you too!”

 


End file.
